Massachusetts Governor’s Former Appointee Charged With SNAP Fraud

Lamar Cook is a Democrat and a fraudster. But I repeat myself.

Gov. Maura Healey (D-Mass.) certainly favors criminals, whether it is school employees secretly grooming and kidnapping a gender-dysphoric child away from her Catholic parents or illegal alien thugs benefiting from sanctuary policies. So it is not exactly shocking that one of her previous appointees has turned out to be a thieving fraudster.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed the new charges against Lamar Cook on Wednesday for dishonestly obtaining taxpayer money from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Healey had appointed Cook in 2023 as Western Mass. deputy director in Springfield, but he lost his office in 2025 after evidence led the Hampden District Attorney’s Office to charge him over alleged drug and firearm offenses.

Cook had been earning an annual salary of $130,227 in addition to $22,374.29 in net pay for accrued vacation leave after he lost his office. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts subsequently “realized an error in paying Mr. Cook for accrued vacation leave time, the Commonwealth attempted to reverse the direct deposits, but it could not do so due to insufficient funds available in the accounts.” It seems as if everyone running the state is either incompetent or dishonest.

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The DOJ explained further:

Cook… [received] over $500 per month, while on court ordered pretrial release in connection with a pending state indictment for alleged cocaine trafficking and firearm offenses…According to court filings in the federal criminal case, Cook’s bank account continued to hold balances of approximately $13,000 as of January 2026 and over $8,800 in April 2026.

Cook also allegedly received a federal and state tax refund in May 2026 from his employment with the Governor’s Office for the 2025 calendar year in the amount of $2,497.88.
Additionally, according to court documents, Cook’s mother won approximately $1 million in the Massachusetts Lottery in early 2026. Cook’s mother allegedly made numerous Zelle payments to him totaling approximately $12,000 between May and June 2026.

This is all important because SNAP benefits are supposed to go to impoverished people who cannot afford food (though ironically, people who use food stamps are more likely to be obese than the general population). 

But in spite of all the money both he and his mother had, Cook in April 2026 applied for SNAP while claiming that he had zero income at all, that he had less than $100 in his bank account, and that he and a minor child were the only ones in his household. At the time, he had nearly $9,000 in the bank, and both his mother and his fiancée (who made more than $80,000 annually from Springfield Public Schools) were living with him. 

Cook then received about $546 a month in SNAP benefits and used them not only at grocery and retail stores in Massachusetts, but also during a trip to Florida in July. His fiancée also used the EBT card, even though she was not authorized. So he was apparently vacationing while claiming to be low income and while already facing a criminal indictment.

It is incredible how brazen fraudsters are now. “It is an unconscionable betrayal of the public trust for a former state official with a pending indictment for drug and gun offenses to then also steal SNAP benefits from the American taxpayer – food assistance benefits intended for low-income Americans,” said U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector General John Walk. “This former state employee lied about his income and family situation to cheat the program. He will now face justice.” I wonder how many other Democrats are scamming the system in Healey’s Massachusetts?

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